Principal Report 

At the time of writing, I have just received an election pledge of $8.59 million of funding so that we can build a Year 7 Centre and extend the Senior School Centre. This funding is the first major investment that we have received since becoming a stand-alone school in 2019 and will have a profound effect on our school as we move forward. As principal of Woodmans Hill, I am a passionate advocate for our community and believe that only the best will do for our students. They deserve upgraded facilities so that they can learn and grow, together, in an environment that supports authentic learning. This announcement is an investment in our wider community and recognizes how far we have come in our journey after only four years. Our vision for the future is one of continuous learning and growth for our whole community and this is a major step forward towards this end.

As any parent will affirm, the toughest transition that our students experience is the move from primary to high school. Whilst many students have been ready for the change for most of Year 6, it can be a time of high anxiety and uncertainty for some as they are moving into a space that they share with Year 12 ‘adults/big-kids’ and where the predictability of the school day is replaced by mass movements around a larger site… every hour. With students missing out on two years of social development because of remote learning we are going to be facing similar issues around connection and confidence in learning for the foreseeable future. 

What we want to create is a safe and nurturing environment that has flexible spaces in which students can access support and care and that still allows them to experience many aspects of high school education through the use of specialist classrooms whilst having a secure base where they can learn, connect and belong. What we also want to retain is the access that families have with their child’s primary school that can often disappear once Year 7 commences. We value the relationships we have with our families and see that we can do more to make them feel they are connected to their child’s learning: therefore, the design of the center will ensure that parents feel that they can access the people who will be caring for their child. 

Getting Year 7 right makes such a massive difference to the long-term growth of students in high school. As a parent whose youngest is about to make that journey into high school, above all else, I don’t want him lost in the crowds: I want him to make friends and to have people who are genuinely interested in getting to know him and look out for him. At Woodmans Hill, although we continue to grow, we still, retain the smaller school ‘feel’ so that we can authentically know all of our students. As well as being a base for innovative teaching, the Year 7 Centre will enable us to let students develop socially at a pace that suits them whilst they have a team around them who know them and who can make them feel cared for. I am also excited at the thought of involving parents in the discussion to design the center with everything we need to make it the best place to start high school.

It also seems fitting that (in the week of Year 12 Graduation) we are also green-lit for funding for an extension to our Senior School Center. In preparing the bid, it made complete sense to make sure that both major transition points were catered for and our students experiencing the biggest changes were supported by experts, in the best facilities possible. The world of work continues to evolve and the potential pathways that our students will journey on will constantly change. What we need to secure for all students is the confidence, capacity and skills to adapt to the many changes that they are destined to face. Additionally, the changes in the Senior Certificate- particularly the Vocational Major component- require upgraded facilities that provide flexibility beyond the traditional classroom learning space. We will continue to provide students opportunities to access experiences such as hospitality courses, or gain their White Cards, but for this to be sustainable we need to have industry standard facilities so that these life-skills can be incorporated into their learning programs from Year 10 upwards. We have to make sure that we support our older students so that they are confident enough to seize any opportunity that comes their way. Additionally, the increase in numbers at senior years means that we need a space where students can access a wide range of expertise to increase their knowledge in career opportunities, as well as spaces for students to study in silence and have access to their teachers for feedback. 

Year 12 Graduation always inspires me when our students share their destinations post-school. When and where I grew up, there were limited chances of work and it was tough to even dream when there was every chance of your ambitions never coming true. Over the course of the four years that I have been lucky enough to be principal at Woodmans Hill, our students’ destinations have become more aspirational and awe-inspiring. I know that if we are to continue in our upward trajectory of student outcomes we need to match the teaching expertise with the learning spaces that can bring out the best in our students. This funding will make this happen!

The last few years have been tough on us all in ways that we could never have anticipated. This commitment of funding is a signal that we are moving onwards to better times for our community. In both these developments, we have the opportunity to create greater connection and establish facilities that can have a long-term impact on the lives of generations to come. If we can fill these buildings with a willingness to make mistakes and a belief that we can continuously get better, then we will strengthen the culture that we have all worked so hard to build.